Hardeeville makes governance guide a law

City Council voted 3-1 this month to use the guide that helps members of City Council, mayor and city manager better understand their duties and functions.

The governance guide was first a resolution created last year that functioned as a reference document to guide the procedures used in Hardeeville government.

The guide was used and necessary when Hardeeville transitioned to the council-manager form of government and there was a high turnover of city managers.

A year later, the governance guidance went before the City Council and was made a law by a 3-1 vote. Mayor Pro Tem Mike Sweeney was absent and Mayor Bronco Bostick voted against the measure.

During the Aug. 30 City Council workshop, Bostick said he was against the guidance becoming an ordinance and felt it wasn’t necessary to make it a law. He voted “no” at the meeting.

The governance guide delineates the tasks not only of the mayor and board but also the city manager and staff. It lays out the procedures for meetings, inquiries and communication.

City Manager Bob Nanni said the guide also helps to set goals and action plans. The governance guide now as an law will help the members understand how to respond to citizens during City Council meetings.

“With the change in government from a mayor-council form of government to a council-manager form of government many issues arose as to how the city was to be run,” City Councilman Sal Arzillo said. “We found that although the people of Hardeeville passed a referendum, the mayor was unwilling to yield to the rules so council passed the governance guide to set down the rules that must be adhered to.”

Arzillo said arguments still happen at meetings over how the meeting should run.

“Our only answer to this problem is to make this governance guide law,” Arzillo said. “I feel that being on council and in many meetings that this is a must-do ordinance. It will help in moving meetings forward and not create confusion in the future.”